Request to buy this photoAssistant Franklin County Prosecutor Daniel Hawkins, who supervises his office’s special-victims unit

Request to buy this photoCourtney Hergesheimer | DISPATCH photosA 13-year-old victim of James E. Cole Jr. testified against him in a Franklin County Common Pleas courtroom. Cole was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 29 years for sexually abusing three girls. The majority of adults indicted on child sexual-abuse charges avoid trial by reaching plea agreements.

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Abuse reports

Anyone who knows or suspects that a child is being sexually abused should contact law
enforcement or the county child-protective-services agency.

Ohio law requires many individuals to report abuse, including teachers, principals, physicians,
nurses, social workers, psychologists and people who work at day-care centers, residential camps
and childcare agencies.

Call these numbers to report abuse:

FRANKLIN COUNTY Children Services: 614-275-2571
Emergency: 614-229-7000
DELAWARE COUNTY Job and Family Services: 740-833-2300
Emergency: 740-833-2800 (sheriff)
FAIRFIELD COUNTY Job and Family Services: 740-653-4060 Emergency:
740-653-5223 (sheriff)
LICKING COUNTY Children Services: 740-670-8888 Emergency: 740-670-5500 (sheriff,
ask for on-duty social worker)
MADISON COUNTY Job and Family Services: 740-852-4770 Emergency: 740-852-1212
(sheriff)
PICKAWAY COUNTY Job and Family Services: 740-474-7588 Emergency: 1-800-345-2176
(sheriff)
UNION COUNTY Job and Family Services: 937-644-1010 Emergency: 937-645-4100
(sheriff)
Source: Public Children Services Association of Ohio

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She was 10 years old when her former stepfather began raping her during sleepovers at his North
Side home.

She was 12 when she testified against him in a Franklin County courtroom in May.

The assaults went on for months and might have gone unreported had her twin brother not seen
some of the acts and told their mother.

By the time the man — James E. Cole Jr. — was indicted, he also was charged with raping two
other girls, the daughters of an ex-girlfriend who allowed them to spend nights with him. They were
10 and 13 when Cole raped them.

All three testified during a weeklong trial that ended with a jury convicting Cole of five
counts of rape, one count of gross sexual imposition and one count of sexual battery. Common Pleas
Judge Richard A. Frye sentenced him in June to life in prison with no chance of parole for 29
years.

The girl whose brother disclosed the abuse said she was happy with Cole’s sentence “because he
did what he did and got consequences. He shouldn’t have done it.”

The oldest girl, now 17, doesn’t think the sentence was enough.

“I want him to go through hell,” she said. “I want him to go through what he put us
through."

The two girls agreed to speak to
The Dispatch with the assurance that their names would not be revealed. Testifying in
court was stressful, they said, even though they were well prepared by Assistant Prosecutor Lauren
Cerminaro and victim advocate Jennifer Brown.

“It was harder than I expected,” the oldest victim said. “The times I looked at (Cole), he kind
of had a smirk on his face like he thought he was going to win.”Cole testified that he never abused
the girls. “Their mothers put them up to it,” he said of the allegations.The majority of adults
indicted on child sexual-abuse charges avoid trial by reaching plea agreements.

Otherwise, the case against Cole, who was 36 when the assaults began four years ago, is typical
of those in which adults are charged with rape or gross sexual imposition against children in
Franklin County, a
Dispatch analysis found.

Of the 319 people charged with those crimes in the past 51/2 years, 98 percent were males. The
victims were 87 percent female. And in the overwhelming majority of such cases, the defendants are
members of the victim’s family or other trusted adults, investigators say.Like most other children
who are sexually abused, Cole’s victims didn’t tell right away.

Victims often are coerced, threatened or bribed to keep the abuse a secret. If the perpetrator
is a family member or trusted adult, the victim might not want the abuser to get in
trouble.Cerminaro said Cole “groomed” his two youngest victims, getting close to them and gaining
their trust. He became a father figure to them while living with their mothers and then continued
to play that role after he was no longer involved with the women.Testimony revealed that he gave
marijuana and alcohol to all three girls.

The oldest victim said Cole threatened to kill her or make sure she never saw her mother again
if she told about the night that he raped her twice in his home.

Cerminaro said the stories Cole’s victims told have a familiar ring to the seven assistant
prosecutors who handle sexual-abuse cases for the office’s special-victims unit.

“These cases are far too common,” she said.Most of the agencies that deal with victims of child
sexual abuse in Franklin County work under one roof at the Center for Family Safety and Healing at
Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

As soon as a law-enforcement agency or Children Services is alerted to a possible sexual-abuse
case, the child and a parent or caregiver are referred to the center to be assessed in a nurturing
environment.

A hospital employee, trained in forensic medical interviews of children, has a one-on-one
conversation with each child while detectives, social workers, doctors and counselors watch on a
closed-circuit television in another room. The setup is designed to eliminate the trauma of
requiring a child to tell his or her story separately to each investigating agency. The child also
is examined by a medical professional trained to deal with traumatized children.

The center has offices for Columbus police detectives, Franklin County Children Services
caseworkers, county prosecutors, doctors and therapists who take a team approach to working with
victims and families.

All of the victims and their families are encouraged to get mental-health treatment, and many
participate in a 10-week program of group therapy. Counseling is available for the children and
their families regardless of whether the case results in criminal charges.

“Our treatment services are completely separate from the law-enforcement side,” said Jennifer
Seaman, the clinical lead supervisor for the hospital’s Family Support Program. “Just because
something doesn’t happen legally, it doesn’t mean the child wasn’t abused, and we’re still going to
help them with healing.”Children Services has 15 caseworkers at the center whose primary role is
investigating sexual-abuse cases.

If the agency substantiates the allegations, it will work to protect the child, even if the
offender isn’t criminally charged.“If the perpetrator is under the same roof as the child, we’re
going to make sure that changes,” said Sonya Harrison, the associate director of intake and
investigations for the agency.Last year, the agency substantiated 257 sexual-abuse allegations. In
another 389 cases, sexual abuse was indicated but not confirmed.

Research has found that victims of child sexual abuse are more likely to do poorly in school,
break the law, abuse drugs and alcohol, and experience suicidal thoughts.

The younger of the victims who spoke to
The Dispatch said she is struggling with grades and behavior problems at school. Rather
than getting outpatient treatment at the center, she participated in a residential program through
Buckeye Ranch. Later, she spent time at Maryhaven after running away from home.

The older victim said she attended one group-therapy session at the center and counseling at
Mount Carmel West hospital but didn’t complete either program.

“I decided I was OK without it,” she said.

To other children who experience sexual abuse, she says, “Don’t keep it inside.

“If it happens one time, you need to tell an adult right away. If you don’t, more than likely it
will happen again.”
Dispatch Library Director Julie Albert provided data analysis for this story.